I am just finishing my freshman year of undergrad at a school that doesn't have the best Pre-medical program. There is an advisor but no major or specific program. I have always been interested in becoming a doctor and plan to apply to med school but I am not familiar with the whole process. I am familiar with the basics...volunteering, shadowing, MCATs, get good grades, do things to put on your resume that show committment etc. However, I'm not familiar with timelines for doing all of this. Just a couple basic questions- when should I be asking for letters of recommendation? What is important when acquiring letters of recommendation? How long should I shadow for- is a week in one area too short? When should I start studying for the MCAT? When do most people take the MCAT? What other ways besides things like volunteering at a hospital and becoming an EMT can be useful in this whole process? Also, if you're from the Northeast, are there any good summer or internship programs you know of that are open to undergraduates in terms of research, job experience, or pre-med academics? Thanks!
Pre-Med Process
- Thread starter Gkw07001
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Search the threads. A lot of people have asked questions like this before.
im also a freshman, however i think the longer shadowing the better so the doctor gets to know you better and probably write better things, also goes for letter of recommendation get it from the professors, managers, doctors that you know the longest so they could put something about commitment for around a year. volunteered for a year always sounds better then volunteering for a week right? start studying MCAT now? as soon as possible im studying MCAT now, take all your bio chem, physics early so you get to know whats going on on your MCAT cause it has alot of science. Most people take their MCAT at their junior year, Im not sure about other ways im volunteering at a hospital and working as a dentist assistant and currently volunttering at red cross so i guess find a job in the medical field. Thats all i could help for now and research opportunity, ask your science professors most of them, if not all of them does some sort of research so look in to it. Best of Luck lets achieve together! =D
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Take your physics, biology, and chemistry courses, plus some sort of critical reading class (whether it be psych or even a class where you just look at journal articles a few times). While doing this, get involved. It doesn't really matter what you get involved in, but medical schools look for: volunteering, clinical experience, and leadership.
AFTER you complete your basic pre-reqs, study for the MCAT. Take it only when you're ready to, do not sit for a test that you are not ready for. This will look bad if you don't score well. There are plenty of practice sessions you can do to get an idea of what the MCAT is about, you don't need to sit for an actual exam to figure that out.
Timeline for LORs varies... some people like to get them immediately after they finish a course with a professor, but this may mean submitting letters that are a couple years old. You may just want to find a way to stay in touch with the professor, and ask the semester leading up to your application.
As for research opportunities... do a google search. There are dozens of opportunities available during the summer for undergraduate students.
AFTER you complete your basic pre-reqs, study for the MCAT. Take it only when you're ready to, do not sit for a test that you are not ready for. This will look bad if you don't score well. There are plenty of practice sessions you can do to get an idea of what the MCAT is about, you don't need to sit for an actual exam to figure that out.
Timeline for LORs varies... some people like to get them immediately after they finish a course with a professor, but this may mean submitting letters that are a couple years old. You may just want to find a way to stay in touch with the professor, and ask the semester leading up to your application.
As for research opportunities... do a google search. There are dozens of opportunities available during the summer for undergraduate students.
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You'll be able to find answers to a lot of these questions in the forums ad nauseum. Just a cautionary word on shadowing:
Yes, shadowing is great for getting a feel for various specialties, and maybe even for building up a relationship with a practitioner for a LoR. But don't shadow instead of things like volunteering or other extracurriculars. I actually discussed it during an interview. The interviewer said that in his mind, shadowing is just watching, you're not necessarily doing anything. And, for him, it was significantly more important that you actually be an active component.
Does this mean that you shouldn't shadow? Of course not. Just don't spend a month shadowing that you could have spent volunteering in a hospital.
Yes, shadowing is great for getting a feel for various specialties, and maybe even for building up a relationship with a practitioner for a LoR. But don't shadow instead of things like volunteering or other extracurriculars. I actually discussed it during an interview. The interviewer said that in his mind, shadowing is just watching, you're not necessarily doing anything. And, for him, it was significantly more important that you actually be an active component.
Does this mean that you shouldn't shadow? Of course not. Just don't spend a month shadowing that you could have spent volunteering in a hospital.
